Rang De Basanti : A Review

An inspiration, a motivation and a superb concept. I never believed a film like this could be made in Bollywood. The trend of comedies, sex flicks and romances had me thinking there is no room for a change. But I was wrong.

Opening with Bhagat Singh’s immortal quotes, the film introduces us to a sensitive subject. It addresses the issue of today’s youth changing the face of the country. A group of friends who are so uncaring about their country live their own life in a way they feel is right. None of them thinks seriously about doing something for the country. Some can’t even fathom the idea of a 23-year old Bhagat Singh giving his life for the cause of freedom. But then something happens that makes them do the same the young revolutionary did, awaken the people.

Sue (Alice Patten) is a London-based director who wants to make a documentary on Indian revolutionaries during the Independence struggle. She has the diary of her grandfather who was a policeman during that time and was witness to Bhagat Singh and others’ hanging. She is inspired from what she reads and wants to make a film. But her firm doesn’t support it and so she leaves for India to do it on her own. She has a contact in India, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), who tries to help her get actors for the roles in the film. After a futile set of auditions (this part is fun), she almost gives up hope until she meets Sonia’s ‘classroom’ pals. She gets introduced to DJ (Aamir Khan), Sukhi (Sharman Joshi), Karan (Siddharth) and Aslam (Kunal Kapoor). Watching them she feels she has her actors and pictures them in the revolutionaries role. DJ falls for Sue and she also starts liking him. After a bit of convincing she gets them to rehearse the parts and get into the characters. Pandey (Atul Kulkarni) is a man of principles, who is against the westernization of India. But he is glad to see a foreigner make a film on Indian revolutionaries and wants to join in. But he has a problem with Aslam, a Muslim and sometimes they have their tiffs. With DJ backing Aslam, he and Pandey get into a big fight where Sue decides that she doesn’t want to make the film as here people look for a reason to kill each other and this would hurt someone. But DJ and the others convince her to stay and continue and patch up with Pandey.

Ajay (R. Madhavan) comes into the picture as Sonia’s boyfriend. He is an Air-Force pilot, who is idealistic and want to do a lot for the country and is doing. He has his arguments with the others about the current situation of India and how the youth should change things. Things change when Ajay’s MiG-21 crashes and he is killed. During a mourning the police take violent measures to disrupt the protest against the Defense Minister who shakes off all responsibility. This event stirs up a hatred in the group, and they plan to take revenge. The last 45 minutes of the film are really good. Here is where the film is different.

The film not just wants to tell a story, it wants to teach us a lesson. Us is Indian youth. And the film accomplishes that. A new concept is born and I admire the director’s bravery to handle such a topic. He has done a good job. And he is well supported by the cast of the film. It’s rare to see all the actors in a film perform so well. Aamir is as usual, great. He doesn’t have that lion’s share of the film, but he surely makes his mark, shown as a 25 year old who doesn’t want to get out into the real world because of a fear. Kunal Kapoor does extremely well as a Muslim who is against the Hindu-Muslim fight. Sharman Joshi sees a fantastic job of the funny guy. He is a joker, and a character that brings a chuckle anytime he is on the screen in the film. Soha Ali Khan is surprisingly good. She may not be the best out there, but she does her role justice and I think I can safely say that she looks quite good in the film. Atul Kulkarni is always good. His role suits him perfectly and he has really mastered it well. Alice Patten is not the kind of firangis one sees in Indian films. I am talking about Rachel Stevens (Lagaan), Brande Roderick (Out of Control), not the good looking or hot types. But I must say she is sweet and does her job well. She even speaks Hindi well, though I am not sure how much she would understand. But this cute girl has acted well, and she is Aamir’s love in the film. But the most surprising performances comes from Siddharth. This guy is too good, and has a role as big as Aamir. He has been given importance in the film and rightly so, does everything perfectly. And he even adds a slight twist to the film in the end.

The film transitions between the past and the present showing how the revolutionaries fought and what things they did. It feels different and certainly not odd. And the music; Aamir said in an interview that Rehman has outdone himself this time. And I could think so too. The songs are fantastic, and the good thing about them is that they flow with the film. None of the songs are separate from the film. And the comedy, there is a nice touch of humor to the film. Touch is an understatement maybe. The film’s first half is quite funny, with Sukhi and DJ being the funniest.

All in all, a film worth watching. It was my first film in America and I was glad I saw this one. A film that entertains you as well as lakes you think a little. ‘Something different’, ‘Great concept’ are some of the short reviews you will here from people who have seen it. And if you haven’t, I suggest you do that as soon as possible. This one gets a 4.5/5.0 from me.